Black Freckles and Electrical Frustration

Yesterday was a pretty good day.  I was able to spray the undercoating to the bottom of trailer.  That was quite messy, but I'm glad that I got it applied.  Jacked up the Carpe Diem to make it easier to work under it.  I'm loving my 3 ton jack stands from Harbor Freight!

 

I ended up using two cans of the cheap stuff; one can of the expensive stuff.  Then I found a third kind of undercoating at Lowes.  It was about half the price between the cheap and the expensive stuff.  I used four cans of it.  Purchased one of the inexpensive 'spray triggers.'  That made the whole process a lot easier.

 

I was really happy to have the glasses and mask on.  However, I ended up with some serious over spray on my face.  Took a long time to clean those glasses too!

I've given up on the idea of having four LED lights the teardrop.  My plan was for them to be on each corner of the teardrop and that they would go on when I turned on the porch lights.  The LED's had teeny tiny wires and I think somehow there must have been a bad connection in one of the many connections.  I spent a couple of days pulling wires again.  I had originally used some wire that I had on hand.  It was way too thick and made it close to impossible to join with three or four pieces like I had to.  I used automotive wire and waterproof connections, but I could not get them to work properly.  I couldn't get them to work and after spending so much time on it, I just clipped the wires and moved on.  No LED's on the corners. 

I had some real problems today too with the switch I planned to use for the porch lights.  I am not sure if I've messed something up with it or if the switch is bad.  Each time I connect the switch, the fuse blows.  I'm going to have to research that a bit.

I am anxious to get the inside insulated, but I'm going to slow down and focus on the electrical; it's not only the part of the project that makes me the most anxious; it's probably the most important part.  I won't be able to easily work on it once i cover the inside with insulation and carpet.

Lastly, I trimmed the cooler tray so that I could easily use the two 12 volt outlets.  I had made the cooler tray an inch too tall and it impeded the entry of the second 12 volt outlet.

 The battery meter is still not functioning properly.  I may have to purchase a new meter if I can't figure out what's going on with the one I have presently.

Now its time to do a little research on trailer wiring and how to fix the switch.

I ended the day with touching up all the paint and tidying up the wires a bit.  Tomorrow I hope to complete the trailer wiring and figure out the switch.  If I can get those two things done, I will install the Marinco power inlet 120 volt system.

On a side note, my wife crawled into the teardrop for the first time yesterday.  She was pretty psyched.  She's been investigating the body pillows and the mattress situation for me.  We planned to use our futon mattress, but we've decided not to do that.  It seems we can find some decent alternatives relatively inexpensively.  We are researching a bit more and we'll see where we come out.  I'm glad she's taking an interest in the project.  I cannot wait for our maiden voyage; whenever that may come!

Finally, Some Progress I Can See!

My day started bright and early.  Went for a coffee and then dug right in.  Got the rest of the galley that had not been finished painted.

My second project was finding a way to mount the spare tire under the galley.  You can see the three bolts just in front of my drill.  I used rubber washers to hopefully keep any water from penetrating through the floor of the galley.

Three of the five bolts; should be plenty of support.

Next, I painted all the drawers and doors.  I started by painting them all blue.  I immediately regretted that decision.  I waited for them to dry and then painted them brown; which was my original plan.

The next project was to cut the hole for the Marinco power port entry.  I was very anxious about cutting the hole in the side of the wall.

There's the hole.  The problem I had to solve next was how to trim the wood on the inside so I could use the washer/nut that goes on the inside.  The walls were a little too thick.  I ended up using one of my sanding cylinders; that worked perfectly.

The port installed.

What it looked like from the inside.

Next project, install the gasket over the hinge. I taped it in place to get a feel for how large the gasket would be.

The sun was hot and it ended up helping me a lot because the gasket and the butyl tape heated up and made it easy to 'stick' in the right place.

I ended up adjusting the edges of the gasket a bit.  I bent the aluminum over the edge so that any rain would run off the drip edge.

I'm really happy with how this turned out.

Cabinets, drawers and doors, take two.

Not a good photo, but you can see how I mounted one of the four LED lights that will come on when the porch lights are lit.  Hopefully this will keep me from banging my shin into the corner at night.

Was able to install the galley light.  I really like that it is on a swivel.  That way you can aim it where you need it.

Was able to put in all the power receptacles and fixtures.  They are not connected yet; that's my big goal for tomorrow.

Close up of the spare tire mount.

The last major problem I solved today was one that had been causing me a lot of trouble.  I could not get the latch on the teardrop to connect.  I also could not figure out how to make the new handle work with the old fixture.  The first part, getting it to fit ended up being easy; I just bolted it in place.  The second part, getting it to work, not so much.  Because the latch is a blind connection (you can't see what's going on because the hatch is in the way) I could not figure out how to get the 'catch' to connect.  Then I had an idea:

I needed someone small enough to fit in the cooler slot so that when I closed the hatch they could see what was happening with the latch.  Jack just so happened to come out and ask if I needed any help.  Within twenty minutes, we had it fixed!  Now, the latch is installed and works perfectly!

As I mentioned before, tomorrow's goal is to get the electric completely done.  I'm going to go set my alarm.

Galley Work

It continues to amaze me how 'little' two full days of work 'produces.'  Unlike a skilled cabinet maker, I've completely figured out my 'cabinets' as I've moved forward with this project.  I had a general idea of what I wanted it to look like; and then there was the reality of the profile of my teardrop.  The cooler was a large part of the design.  I wanted it to be easily accessible.  I wanted it to be able to be pulled out and accessed.  I also wanted a 'counter top' so that we could use it as a place to prepare meals, etc.

I used the butyl tape over the holes that were left when I removed the old galley.  I then screwed into these holes to anchor the wooden side panels.  So, I reused the holes with stainless steel screws.  The butyl tape was a bit of over-engineering, but I don't plan on being the last owner of this baby!

The angle and slope of the galley was really tight.  As you can see from the image above, the counter top is pretty narrow, but after experimenting a little, it does seem doable.

You can see in the image above that the stove fits perfectly in the area above the cooler.  I don't have a 5 gallon water bottle yet, but my hope is that it will fit, horizontally, next to the stove so that it can 'pour' into pots, etc.  I was using my Coleman lantern box as a stand in.  I have a few tweaks on the drawers.  I have great respect for cabinet makers.  I've made a few cabinets in my life, and always am humbled by the challenges they present.

The cooler clears the cabinet nicely and even the doors and drawers open when each other are open too!  That was just a happy accident!

Now that the cabinets and drawers are built, I'll take some time this week to paint, sand and paint them again.  In other cabinets I've built, I've 'dressed' up the doors with some edge trim and routed the edges.  I'll probably do that again, now that I know it all 'works.'

Left side open.  I'm not sure if I'll need to add any shelves here or if we'll use some sort of container/baskets to store stuff in here.  The right side will contain the battery, fuse panel, etc.

I plan on a couple of tweaks to the cooler area.  I think that the stove, water bottle and lantern will be able to be stowed like the first image above shows.  However, I'll need to create some sort of eye hook to hold a bungee cord which will hold them all in place while traveling.  I'll also need to put a latch on the cooler so that it does not come sliding out.  Another little happy 'accident' is that the small black latch in the center of the bumper is where the hatch will 'clasp.'  I used a small slide of plywood to mount the drawer slides that move the cooler in and out.  That was exactly the right amount of height that was needed to 'miss' the latch!  Lucky!

It really is hard to believe that I spent a whole weekend working on the Carpe Diem and this is 'all' I have to show for it.  It was a lot of miniscule progress, followed by several steps backward.  Nonetheless, things are looking pretty good.

Next up: electrical rough in.  I'm going to West Marine to switch the fuse panel from the four breaker system to the six.  I didn't realize that one of the breakers on the four was used to power the two DC outlets.  This would give me too few inputs.  Going with the larger panel will give me an extra circuit or two for future expansion.

I'm not sure how or where to place the circuit panel.  On the one hand, it could be stowed away under the counter on the right side.  On the other, I might want to be able to 'see' the lights for each circuit.  I'm not sure how important that is to me.  I'm going to need to research that a bit this week.  Another item that I need to research is how to 'charge' while driving.  I know it is pretty simple, but I need to integrate that into my system as I move forward.

I know I want to ready the electrical system for the future use of solar power too.  I explored several different 'makes' of panels, etc.  They all seem to have a very simple connector system.  I think I'm just going to have to decide on a system and then plan for the eventual connection before the teardrop is sealed up and insulated. 

Monday Evening

Was able to get a couple of hours in this evening on the Carpe Diem.  I jacked up the teardrop and was able to bolt the storage boxes to the frame.  Then, was able to install the headliner on the wheel well covers.

I tried to make the 'edges' where they meet look as nice as possible.  I think I'll add some kind of black rubber trim on each of the 'seams' to make it look a bit more finished.  If nothing else, there is a neoprene seal that goes on the bottom of the garage door that I saw and think might work.  The bulkhead is all 'finished' and looks outstanding!

I glued and screwed the right galley side board in place.  I put a dab of silicone on each of the screw holes as I screwed them in.

Was able to finish the tray that the cooler will sit in.  All I need to do now on the galley is decide on the height of the 'counter' and begin blocking it out.  I found a design that I am going to replicate.  Here is an image of it:

It comes from the Tiny Trailer Company.  I like the way they incorporated the Coleman stove into a pull out drawer that doubles as a cook stand.  I also like the two pull out drawers.  Those could be used to hold utensils and cooking tools.  My design will be a little different on the drawers and lower cabinets; but the idea is sound.

Not going to have any time the rest of the week to work on the Carpe Diem.  Will have to plan and do 'virtual work' on the additional systems. etc.